


Red Velvet

by zorromona



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/F, Fluff, brief shuake mentions, futaba has a big gay crush and doesn't know how to cope
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-04 19:25:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14600055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zorromona/pseuds/zorromona
Summary: Through a request from Haru, Futaba learns that they aren't as different as she once thought; that Futaba's feelings might not be so unreciprocated.





	Red Velvet

**Author's Note:**

> i'm imprinting on futaba hard here whoops
> 
> http://twitter.com/nadireon

Futaba is pretty sure it all started in Mementos.

Whenever she's finished analyzing the area, the explorations are usually straightforward, boring, especially when the shadows cower and her support isn't as direly needed. It's that monotony that pushes her to say whatever first pops into her head, just to break the silence. They all react in ways typical of themselves, but Haru’s playful fondness had surprised her; the time when Haru had joined her in making choo-choo noises was, in particular, frustratingly cute.

She wasn't dense -- socially awkward, yes, but not oblivious to her own emotions. But she’d rather die than take action; years of isolation, psychological torment at the hands of both herself and others, and the resulting mental illness meant that her confidence lied in her technical abilities and little elsewhere. She’d came far since having her heart stolen, but even that could only do so much versus the trauma that had soured her childhood.

Haru was, to Futaba, everything that she was not. It was a depressing perception, but for the time being Futaba would chalk it up to a basic infatuation that would fade in time. Not because her feelings lacked substance, but because they were toward someone who was so clearly out of her league.

With a put-down sigh, she flips on Featherman and plops into her chair until she falls asleep, not bothering to ever actually crawl into bed.

\--

She, luckily for her already worrisome posture, wakes in her bed anyway, tucked in with a primness that Futaba herself never practiced. Sojiro must have checked in on her before he called it a night.

With a wide yawn, she, ever so reluctantly, stumbles out of bed, reaching for her glasses and making herself semi-presentable before her phone buzzes.

She fumbles with her phone, squinting as she tones down the brightness and opens her messages.

> [Haru] Futaba-chan, are you awake? If you are, I’d love to spend some time with you over coffee.

There's a strange feeling in her chest, but she hastily dismisses it and instead focuses on a response.

> Sure. Gimme a minute.

After tripping over the legs of her computer chair and only narrowly avoiding a face-first demise, she tugs on her jacket and shoves her feet into her shoes and drags herself out the house, blinking hard when her eyes find outside light.

She feels like she still looks like a mess when she steps into Leblanc, but if Haru thinks anything of it, her sunny and pleasant smile doesn't give it away.

Sojiro turns from the dishes he’s scrubbing at the sound of an opening door, brows raised in question until he sees who it is. “Thought you were a customer.” he comments.

“What? Are you disappointed it’s just me? I’m hurt,” she gasps; Sojiro rolls his eyes in a rough fondness, a small smile on his tired features.

“Futaba-chan,” she chirps, greeting her warmly, patting the stool beside her until Futaba goes to sit. “I hate to bother you so early in the morning, but I’ve been so busy lately I doubt I could properly talk to you later--”

“Don't worry about it. I’m trying to become a morning person,” Futaba answers, resting her chin in her palm as she tries not to stare at Haru too much. “What is it?”

Her eyes sparkle when Sojiro places two coffees on the bar, but they quickly return to Haru.

“Well,” Haru begins, clearly reluctant. “Ever since my father’s death, our employment situation has turned … complicated. Though I’ll always be sure to enforce a healthy work environment and fair wages, many of our white-collar workers chose to work for other companies after my father’s exploitive behavior was revealed. We're rehiring at a good pace, but our website is in dire need of renovation and we’ve had tough luck there.”

Futaba, thinking over her words, takes a slow sip of her coffee, carefully watching Haru over the rim of the mug. “So you’re…?”

“Yes,” she gives a tiny, unsure nod. “It would be a one-time thing, though I would like to come to you for future updates as well. But I very well understand that this is no small task I’m asking of you, so it's completely understandable to decline.”

Futaba chugs the last of her coffee before slamming the mug down on the counter; Sojiro mutters something about nearly breaking it. “You kidding? That sounds like fun. You just let me know what needs to be done, okay?”

Haru’s smile loses its nervous edges. “Oh! And as for payment… would around five-hundred thousand yen seem fair?”

Both her and Sojiro’s eyes nearly pop out their sockets.

“Five-hundred thousand yen?” she all but balks. “Haru? Even half that is crazy. I wasn't even thinking about pay.”

Haru’s face turns stern, and Futaba knows she's already lost. “Nonsense! I said I was ensuring fair pay for all workers, and this is merely median pay. You deserve the same.”

From behind the counter, Sojiro sighs. “She’s right, you know. No point in paying you any less when you’ll knock whatever geezer used to work there’s work out the park anyway.”

Haru's smile is kind, but not without resolve. Futaba drags her fingers through her hair, snickering wryly. “Fiiiine. I guess I'll take it.”

“Oh, thank you so much.” she says delightedly, bringing Futaba in for a full-force hug; she internally quips that her crush was, well, crushing her and then she realizes she's never thought up such a horrific joke before. “I need to leave for now, but I’ll fill you in on the details soon!”

Finally free of Haru's grip, Futaba, red-faced and more than a little short of her breath, smiles dazedly. “Y-yep! There's no rush!” she assures her, holding the door open and waving her goodbye. “See you.”

When the door is closed and Haru is out of view, Futaba reclines her back against the wall, slowly sliding down until she's flat on her butt. “You two are really putting me through the wringer, you know?”

Sojiro chuckles.”It's good you’re being paid for the work.”

“It's… so much money. Can't I use some to make sure this place stays afloat?”

“We’re not that bad off.”

“I feel selfish.”

He raises a brow. “By accepting reasonable pay for your work? Now, get out the floor. You’ll scare away customers.”

“Customers? Where?” she asks, cackling when Sojiro glares. “I guess I'd better go before that loud couple comes. Where's Akira?”

“Out with that Akechi kid.”

Futaba sucks in a breath, but makes sure she doesn’t exhale loudly. She doesn’t care to think about it right now, so she only shrugs. “M’kay. I’ll see you later then.”

The short walk to her house is far more exhausting than it should be. Once home, she resists sinking back into her bed and instead plops into her computer chair with a sigh.

It wasn't that she didn't want to help, but doing so as a commission was … daunting. She, more than anything, wanted to impress Haru, didn't want to let her down. She knew her abilities were better refined than any salary man, but a common doubt began to nag her.

She knew there wasn't any good in overthinking now, not when she and Haru had only shared a few words regarding it; but that knowledge didn't stop her from doing so.

Shaking her head, she flips on the TV, gives up on not crawling back to bed, her thoughts only drifting when her eyes flutter closed.

When she wakes up again, feeling slightly better, she goes about her usual business for the rest of the day until her phone buzzes once more. It's a call this time, and Futaba, aware of who it likely was, scrambles for the phone. She preferred messaging, but Haru's voice was enough to compensate.

“Futaba-chan?” Even though the distortion of the phone, Haru's weariness is easy to hear.

“I’m here.”

“I hope I didn't pressure you into anything that you're not comfortable with earlier. If you don't want to, I understand. It's no small job, after all.”

“Oh, no, no,” Futaba hastily interjects. “I’m more than happy to help. I just … are you sure you want to pay me? What if it isn't what you want?”

“Futaba-chan,” she laughs softly. “You need to stop doubting yourself. I can't think of anyone better suited to this task than you.”

Futaba is glad Haru can't see her blush. “I-I’ll try my best, then. Do you really need to give me that much money, though?”

“I do. There's no reason to pay you any less, after all,” Haru insists. Her resolve is both tiring and admirable, Futaba thinks. “I have most the day off tomorrow. Is it okay if we see each other tomorrow evening?”

“Of course!” Futaba chirps, just a bit too eager. “I’ll see if Sojiro can make us some curry too, okay?”

“That sounds nice,” Haru agrees. “Thank you, Futaba. I was a little tired before I called, but something about you always puts me in good spirits.”

Futaba takes this ten different ways -- No. Don't do that. Haru was always affectionate, with everyone.

“I’m glad I could cheer you up; I could never do what you do. Get some rest, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Mmm, I suppose you're right. Good night, Futaba-chan.”

“G’night.”

When the phone is off, Futaba sighs, hit with the painful reality of just how infatuated she is. It wouldn't be so bad, not if Futaba thought there was even the slightest chance it could be reciprocated. But her long-since ruined esteem prevented her from considering that someone could like her in that way, especially someone like Haru.

Regardless, she wanted to help Haru, wanted to spend time with her no matter what was or wasn't going to come of it.

But for now, it was time to crash, mulling over the throb of her heart until she lulls to sleep.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i was tricked into naming this after a kpop group don't look at me


End file.
